par Simon, Caroline
Référence Canadian journal of women and the law, 28, 3, page (521-547)
Publication Publié, 2016
Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : Starting with a critical analysis of the Belgian Law of 10 May 2007 on transsexuality and the preparatory works leading to its development, this contribution first questions the contemporary conceptions of gender produced by the Belgian law, mainly with regard to the right of changing one's first name and modifying one's sex in civil records. An in-depth review of the content of these provisions helps disclose some pitfalls of the law, among them a tendency to psychiatrize transgendered persons, and the rigid and binary conception of gender and heavy medical procedures that sometimes goes as far as to impose sterilization. A brief overview of the state of the legislation for transgendered individuals in other European countries allows us to broaden the scope of reflection on the Belgian context and highlight all the recent advances handed down by the European Court of Human Rights in Y.Y. v Turkey on 10 March 2015. Building on these developments, we endeavour to go beyond the first relatively pessimistic assessment of the law as only an instrument of domination, by suggesting the mobilization of legislation as a means of evolving reports on sex and gender, inspired by Sally Engle Merry's works, with the goal of redefining the very meaning of the law and individuals' rights in general.